The Horse's Tongue Appears To Be Blue.......

Our house, or rather 'hotel' is now open for visitors until Xmas...and it's already fully booked. If it were left up to me they'd all pay but I'm a misery according to 'er indoors and she says you can't make your friends and relatives pay to come and stay. When I suggested I might as well wear a concierge uniform, her reply was in the form of a hurled object which missed....fortunately for me. I think I might spend the rest of the day hidden in the garden.......

Well, there's been a hell of a row about the video showing a horse being schooled before the World Cup round in Odense on October 18 by Swedish rider Patrick Kittel. The animal, Watermill Scandic, is shown in a hyperflexed position with its tongue flopping outside its mouth. The horse's tongue appears blue. We posted the video with appropriate comments two weeks ago and this isn't the end of it either. Here's the original video.
This article comes from NZ on what's likely to happen internationally and I've also had emails on the subject to the extent of some sites now petitioning horse lovers to stop this practice.
Here's one of them if you are interested:
Thanks to Alice for informing us.

A call centre providing advice and support for UK consumers about European purchases is celebrating its second birthday. Buried in the masses of common complaints on timeshares and transport are bizarre topics such as flowers, lipstick and a horse. Yep, it's bizarre but worth reading if you are contemplating buying a horse from abroad (so what's wrong with buying Australian?)

Most of us probably have other pets besides horses, that is if you count a horse as a 'pet', depends if it's a work animal I guess. Anyways,  this article on pet problems is worth a read...it will get you on one side or other of the pet 'fence'. Controversial...of course. I mean, just read the introduction...
Britain's problem with pets: they're bad for the planet. The authors of a provocative new book have bad news for animal-lovers: pets are bad for the planet. They consume vast amounts of precious resources, produce mountains of noxious waste – and they can be a disaster for wildlife. Um...read more

You'll remember we posted a vid on trail riding in South Africa well here's a great video from Horse.co.nz.

Beginning Horse Riding : Horse Riding Balance & Body Mechanics. Here's a nice video for the beginner. Unfortunately, as with some YouTube videos, there are the usual inane comments by idiot viewers, some of whom obviously know nothing about horses apart from the odd riding school lesson in the past, but apart from that it's interesting.

“If you want to know about gold medals, ask David O’Connor. If you want to know about falling, ask me! Nobody has fallen more than I have, in 10 years of riding bad maiden claimers.” That’s how Danny Warrington, steeplechase jockey turned successful upper-level eventing competitor and trainer, sums it up as he tries to spread the word about the importance of knowing how to fall. Every rider should watch this.

The Six Golden Principles of Horse Training - The co-founders of Cavalia share their insights on equine behavior and training in this excerpt from their new book, Gallop to Freedom. Plus, watch a video preview of the book! A fascinating article...you don't need the book, just read the article to get a good grasp. You might not agree with everything but there are some great principles here...if you've got the time. Courtesy of Equisearch.

There are more pictures of horses than you can poke a stick at....so why haven't you entered yours for our comp? Enter here and view the great prize too.

Have a great week!